Global Legal Monitor

Taiwan: Appliance Dealers’ Recycling Fees to Be Banned

(Dec. 13, 2010) It was reported on December 10, 2010, that Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has drafted revisions to the relevant laws on recycling of appliances that will ban retailers from charging consumers a fee for the removal and disposal of old, large household gadgets. The new measures will apply to refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and televisions. Dealers who charge a fee in violation of the measures will be subject to fines ranging from NT$60,000 (about US$2,000) to NT$150,000. The new rules are expected to come into force on July 1, 2011.

According to an official of the EPA's Recycling Fund Management Board, Cheng Chi-pu, the large-appliance manufacturers already pay the EPA a fee to recycle, dispose of, and clear away every new item they produce; those funds are passed on in the form of subsidies to the recycling companies. “These recycling companies purchase the old appliances collected by dealerships, so the latter should not be allowed to extract fees from consumers,” Cheng stated. Recycling of the household appliances has greatly improved in the last few years, EPA statistics indicate, rising from 29% in 2000 to 53% in 2009. (EPA Mulls Ban on Recycling Fees by Appliance Retailers, TAIWAN TODAY (DEC. 10, 2010) [from LIBERTY TIMES], http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xitem=135542&ctnode=452&mp=9.)